Beta 9
by sootgremlin11
Summary: The U.S.S Enterprise is in the middle of an unusual uneventful streak; but that all changes when they receive a distress call from the colony on Beta 9. This is set nearly a year after Kirk becomes Captain.
1. Distress Call

"Report, Chekov."

Captain James T. Kirk leaned back in the Captain's chair and sighed. For two weeks it had been like this. Nothing. Absolutely nothing interesting had happened. As Spock had pointed out this could be considered as a good thing in many ways, but now Jim was itching for some excitement....and he could tell that the majority of his crew felt the same.

"All grawitational readings are normal, Captain." Chekov replied in his thick Russian accent. "Nussing new on sensors."

"Thank you, ensign." Jim turned his gaze to his helmsman. "Sulu, anything coming up?" His voice had a slightly pleading hint to it.

Sulu swivelled in his chair to face him, "Nothing in the foreseeable future, Captain. There's nothing that should divert us from our current course anyway."

Jim sighed again. "Thank you, Mr Sulu."

Sulu turned round and glanced at Chekov. Their eyes met and they both raised their eyebrows in agreement. This had to be the most uneventful stretch the Enterprise had ever seen since her christening almost a year ago. Everyone knew they should be relieved at being able to have a rest, but after so long of non-stop missions the calm seemed almost wrong.

Behind the Captain, lieutenant Uhura rose from her console and wandered over to Spock at the science station. He turned and nodded in greeting.

Uhura smiled and whispered, "I was thinking, it's been a while since we've seen each other."

"On the contrary, lieutenant," Spock replied quietly, "the coinciding of our shifts means that we see rather a lot of each other."

"No," Uhura looked around and leant down, "I mean, it's been a while since we have seen each other..._alone_." Her long black hair fell over her shoulder as she gazed at Spock.

"I see." Spock arched his eyebrow and cast a quick glance across the bridge, "Did you have something particular in mind, lieutenant, to remedy the situation?"

"Well," she smiled, "we received a shipment from Earth a few weeks ago. My mother sent me all the ingredients I need to make her famous Pork au Roulade. I would love for you to try some." She watched as Spock fiddled with his console.

Spock stopped and cast a quick eye round the bridge. "I have the duty rosters to prepare tonight; however, I do believe I could take a short break at 2100 hours." He looked up at Uhura and gave a ghost of a smile.

"2100 hours it is." Uhura straightened and lightly laid her hand on Spock's arm before returning to her station; she felt it tense slightly then relax. She sat down and replaced her earpiece. Uhura smiled, she was quite glad of the break in missions. She always felt like a slightly useless member of the senior crew during a crisis. Once everything had been translated she was normally left to observe while everyone else saved the day.

Suddenly, Uhura heard something through her earpiece. She adjusted the controls and concentrated. "Captain, we're receiving a distress call."

"Really?" Jim asked happily. He turned round smiling but stopped when he saw Spock's frown. "Who from?"

"The distress call is coming from the human colony on Beta 9. They're requesting permission to transport aboard and explain the problem in person." Uhura didn't look up from the screen as she asked, "What shall I respond?"

"Tell them, permission granted." Jim jumped out of his seat. "Spock?"

Spock rose. "Captain, the high concentration of ammonia gases in the lower atmosphere may interfere with the transport."

"Right," Jim clicked the control pad on the side of his chair, "Scotty?"

"Aye, Captain?" Scotty's voice came over the intercom.

"Scotty, report to the transporter room, we're going to need you at the controls to compensate for some atmospheric problems."

"On my way, Captain!"

Jim walked across the bridge and joined Spock, who was already in the turbo-lift. "Sulu, you have the bridge," he called as the doors slid closed.

"So," Jim turned to his first officer, "what do you know about the people of Beta 9?" He ran a hand through his cropped, light hair and tried to force himself to remain still. It was about time something interesting happened!

"They are part of a relatively old colony," Spock replied in his smooth voice, "and are most well known for their unusual social conventions."

"Unusual social conventions?"

"The people of Beta 9 have many different rules governing social interactions and many different rituals that must be performed to certain people of standing within their society. Many disputes have occurred over a forgotten ritual or a mispronunciation of a name."

"Really." Jim said thoughtfully. "So, do you know if we have to perform any ritual when they come on board?"

"I do not, sir." Spock furrowed his brow as he continued. "The people of Beta 9 are extremely private in carrying out their affairs which means that very few outsiders know of their customs. This has led to the failure of many past negotiations between them and Starfleet."

"Well, that's stupid."

"It is indeed, illogical, Captain. However, it is not our place to judge their ways."

Jim inhaled through his teeth; Spock just seemed incapable of not lecturing him. Even after almost a year of serving together, he still didn't seem to think Jim was fit to command "Thank you, _Commander_."

Spock inclined his head slightly. Inwardly, he observed how he had said the wrong thing yet again. Living in a ship full of humans seemed to have had no improvement of his understanding of them, even though he was half human himself. His Vulcan mind simply did not seem to grasp their way of thinking.

The doors opened and they walked the rest of the way to the transporter room in silence. When they arrived, Scotty was already in his seat. He turned and grinned, "Captain, I've compensated for the ionisation of the atmosphere and we're all set for transport."

"Great, go ahead then, Scotty." Jim clasped his hands behind his back and stood beside Spock, facing the transporter pad.

Before them, a single person began to materialise. Once the light had faded, they saw it was a young woman. She was easily one of the most beautiful women Jim had ever seen. Her blond curls were held in a clip behind her left ear and her long green dress was draped over one shoulder and fell to the floor.

"Hello." Jim smiled broadly, his piercing blue eyes shining as they looked her up and down.

Scotty smiled. That woman was going to have to watch out if she wanted her modesty left intact. Scotty glanced over to his two commanding officers and could have sworn that he saw Spock roll his eyes. But that didn't seem like a very Vulcan thing to do.

"Welcome to the U.S.S Enterprise, I'm Captain James Tiberius Kirk." He smiled as the woman walked toward him. "But you can call me Jim."

Hmmm, Scotty thought to himself, I am almost certain Spock just groaned.

"Hello, Jim." The woman smiled, "I am Minister Gail De Luci, but you can call me Gail." She reached Jim and kissed him, hard. Behind him, Jim was sure he could hear Scotty spluttering.

"Huh," Jim stammered as she pulled back. "It's, erm, nice to meet you, Gail.....oh, and this is my first officer, Commander Spock."

Gail moved to Spock and kissed him too. Now Jim spluttered.

"It's very nice to meet you Spock." Gail said, pushing a stray lock of blond hair from her face and smiling coyly.

"And you." If Spock was startled, he did not sound it. After a moment of silence, he suggested, "Perhaps you would like to accompany us to the bridge to explain your problem."

"Oh, thank you." Gail's face at once filled with worry. "It is really very urgent."

"Well then," Jim took her arm, "allow us to escort you there, Gail." Gail squeezed his arm as Jim began to lead her to the door.

As they were about to leave Scotty jumped in front of them and spoke to Gail, "Hello. I'm lieutenant Montgomery Scott."

"Hello." Gail said sweetly. She looked at him for a few seconds and then quickly walked past him and out the door.

"Hard luck, Scotty." Jim whispered, patting him on the shoulder, as he passed him and followed Gail out the door. Spock brought up the rear and heard Scotty muttering angrily at the other controllers who were chuckling softly as the doors slid silently shut.

Once on the bridge, Gail began to explain the situation. "We have been experiencing strong seismic activity for several years now, but some of your professors from Earth came and solved our problem by installing probes in the planet's upper mantle. But now the biggest earthquake we have seen in some time has destroyed their research station and the professors, Jan and Marie, are trapped inside. If they are not freed, the seismic activity could destroy our planet! We need them to carry on their work; they are the only ones who know how to operate the probes."

"Right," Jim sat back in his chair, "where exactly is this research station?"

"It's on the northernmost peninsula, beyond the mountains." Gail answered.

"I have located it, Captain." Spock said, "It appears to be buried under many metres of rubble but I am still detecting two life signs."

"Thank you," Jim replied, "Mr Sulu, manoeuvre us into position above the research station."

"Aye, Captain." Sulu began to move the ship and as he did so he noticed that Chekov was sitting frozen to the spot, his youthful eyes glistening.

"Scotty," Jim spoke into the intercom, "we've got two people buried after an earthquake. Prepare the equipment and take a team down to the surface to dig them out of there. We need to get to them quickly."

"Aye, Captain. Consider it done."

"Bones?" Jim spoke into the intercom on the other arm of the chair.

"I'm here. What is it?" Bones' gruff voice drifted on to the bridge.

"Bones, we're rescuing two people from Beta 9 who were buried in an earthquake. Have a medical team waiting in the transporter room."

"You got it."

Jim turned to Gail, "What did you say their names were again?"

"Their name is Chekov, sir." At the con, Chekov swivelled in his chair and inhaled shakily. "Zey are my parents, sir."


	2. An Attack

"How's it going down there, Scotty?"

"Almost there!" Scotty's laboured voice blared through the speaker. "Just another metre and we'll have them!"

At the con Chekov stared at the screen in front of him. He remembered the last time he had seen his parents. It had been the day when he had broken the news to them that he was enlisting in Starfleet. To this day, he flinched as he recalled the look of pure hatred in his father's eyes. And now it was up to him and his shipmates to rescue them. Guiltily he gloomily thought that either they died; or he would have them aboard the Enterprise and everyone would know....

Sulu's light hand on his arm brought him out of his increasingly panicked thought process. "It's going to be alright, you know." Sulu smiled gently, "Scotty managed to think his way out of a black hole; he can handle shifting a few rocks. They'll be okay, Pavel."

Chekov gazed up at his companion and managed a weak smile, "Sank you, Hikaru." Despite himself, he felt heartened by this reassurance.

Sulu nodded and patted his arm. Chekov was about to say more when his console began to beep worryingly. "Captain, I have detected anusser ship approaching."

"What kind of ship?" Jim gripped the sides of his chair and leaned forward. His entire body tensed as he prepared himself for whatever might come.

"Captain!" Spock's exclamation removed any further queries from the minds of the bridge crew, "The ship has locked weapons on us!"

Jim clicked the intercom and spoke to his crew, "All decks: Red Alert. All hands to Battle Stations."

Jim raised his head and addressed Sulu, "Shields up. Take evasive action."

"Aye, sir." Sulu began frantically pressing buttons causing the Enterprise to veer starboard, narrowly avoiding two missiles.

"Gail!" Jim turned to the Beta 9 minister, "Who the hell are these people?!"

"It must be a resistance ship!" Gail yelled as she clung to the railing. Her eyes widened as she looked at the menacing ship that had appeared on the viewscreen.

"Uhura, hail them!"

"Captain," Scotty's voice came through the intercom, "we've got the professors and are ready for transport."

"Okay, 're a little busy right now though so once you're on board I need you to go straight to Engineering." Jim issued more orders before glancing at Gail, "What resistance is this then?"

"They're not responding to hails." Uhura called out. Uhura took a moment to glance at Spock. His brow was furrowed as he attempted to decipher the sensor readings from this new, mysterious ship.

"If you please," Gail narrowed her eyes at Jim as her dishevelled hair fell free of its clip, "I believe that that sort of information could wait until after the ship that's trying to destroy us has been dealt with."

Jim was about to reply when the Enterprise gave a great lurch. Behind Gail, a console exploded. She screamed and sank to the floor, clinging even harder to the railing.

"Captain," Spock turned to Jim, "we've been hit by some sort of pulse that seems to be interfering with many ship systems, including our communication abilities."

Jim hardly had time to process this before he was greeted with more dire news.

"Captain," a female voice spoke through the intercom, "transporter control has been disrupted. I can't lock on to the away team."

"I could do zat." Chekov muttered. He spun round to face the Captain and said louder, "Sir, I could do zat!"

"Well," Jim appeared to have a moment of indecision before replying, "don't just sit there. Go!"

Chekov didn't say anything. He simply sprinted out of the door and a petrified looking ensign took his place at the con.

Jim turned his attention back to the problem at hand. The enemy ship didn't seem to have suffered much damage from their weapons. Luckily, apart from the pulse, none of their weapons seemed to be having much effect on the Enterprise either. Jim thanked the fates for the umpteenth time for guiding him to the Enterprise and not some dilapidated, old rust bucket.

"Spock," Jim barely glanced over his shoulder as he addressed his first officer, "what you got? How the hell do we take these guys out?"

At the science station, Spock had been trying to find a way to do just that. The pulse had wreaked havoc on sensors so Spock was relying on the data collected before the Enterprise was hit. There hadn't been enough time to collect as much data as Spock would have liked, but nevertheless he did have an idea.

"Captain," Spock frowned inwardly as he tried to communicate his idea in a way that wouldn't sound completely ridiculous, "I believe that if we modify our warp field to the inverse of the pulse frequency and drop our shields, our warp field would act like a stronger version of their pulse weapon and disable their ship."

"Drop our shields? Are you crazy?!"

Obviously Spock hadn't succeeded in avoiding sounding ridiculous. In fact, Spock suspected that every officer on the bridge now though him completely insane. He sighed and double checked his calculations as he felt the incredulity of the entire bridge crew clawing at his back. "Captain, I know that it may sound like an illogical strategy but with the effectiveness of our weapons being so low, I project that this course of action has the highest statistical likelihood of success. However, if we are going to modify our warp field we need to do so now before the effects of the pulse begin to interfere with our warp drive." Spock craned his head to look at Jim and gauge his reaction.

Jim was staring at Spock with his mouth hanging slightly open. Spock was actually suggesting that they drop their shields....in the middle of an attack. Was it possible for Vulcans to buckle under pressure? But, in the time they had served together Spock had hardly ever been wrong. As much as they may disagree on many subjects; the fact of the matter was that Jim trusted Spock's judgement.

"Jim, you can't seriously be considering this!" Gail pulled herself slightly more upright. She looked at Jim beseechingly. Her almost lavender coloured eyes bore into his head as he struggled with what to do. In situations like this Jim relied on his gut instinct to get him through.

Jim looked first from the eyes of the stunning Gail to the eyes of his first officer.

"Tell Engineering to modify the warp field fast. We need to deal with this so we can divert extra power to transporter control." To his left, Gail hissed but Jim knew once he'd said it aloud that it was the right thing to do. Spock knew what to do. He always did. Besides, he would never have suggested it if he didn't honestly think that it was the best way of disabling that ship.

"Aye, sir." Spock turned back to his console and the bridge, which seemed to have ceased all activity while Jim was making his decision, bursted with new found energy. Only Gail remained where she was, her eyes still boring into Jim.

She looked livid. Jim almost crouched back into his chair, faced with the ferocity of Gail's gaze. Some part of Jim registered that his chances with her were now well and truly demolished, but during a crisis Jim's womanising impulses were suppressed until said crisis was averted. Those impulses then usually washed over him and Jim would curse himself for whatever behaviour had ruined his chances, no matter how imperative those behaviours may have been.

"Engineering reports ready." Spock's level voice soothed Jim.

"Okay," Jim took a deep breath, "Sulu.......lower our shields."

It was hard to tell whether Sulu gulped before he answered, "Yes, sir." Sulu entered the command into the computer. "Shields lowered."

The bridge, as one, turned to Spock. As one, they looked at his tensed back and awaited his report.

A collective sigh of relief was sounded as Spock's back visibly relaxed. "The enemy ship has been neutralised, Captain. They are retreating."

"Thank you, Commander. If sensors aren't completely inoperational, track it as far as you can before it goes out of range." Jim grinned quickly at Sulu before contacting Chekov, "Transporter control, have you managed to beam up the away team yet?"

"Not yet!"

In the transporter room, Chekov feverishly continued to adapt the targeting scanners. From his side, Doctor Bones McCoy watched him sadly. He knew that Chekov got flustered at the best of times; he couldn't imagine what kind of pressure he was feeling knowing that what he did now determined whether his parents lived or died.

Bones had his scanner at the ready and orderlies behind him were poised with stretchers. He didn't know whether any of the away team was injured but he was certain that if any of them had been severely, Scotty would have reported it. Bones now was just worried about Chekov's parents. And Chekov himself.

"Yes. Yes." Chekov whispered as he worked. "Yes!"

He looked up at Bones and nodded. He triumphantly locked on to the away team and his parents. "Transport in 5....4....3....2...1....energising."


	3. Confession

In the medical bay, Chekov leant back against the wall, staring into space.

To his right, the doors silently opened and Captain Jim Kirk walked in. He didn't notice Chekov and moved straight to where Bones was standing. "Hey," he tapped Bones on the shoulder, "how are they doing?" Jim nodded to the two Professor Chekovs who were lying unconscious in adjacent beds. Marie's hair was curled in a similar way to her son's and she had the same small mouth. Jim honestly couldn't see any resemblance between Jan and Chekov, though. Jan was confusingly bulky for a professor and his jet black hair clung to his face.

"They're going to be fine." Bones set down his scanner and drew Jim aside. "They very nearly suffocated, Scotty and his team got there just in time. Jan Chekov has three fractured ribs and Marie took a pretty nasty blow to the head but they're both responding well to treatment. They should be awake in a few minutes."

"And how's Scotty and his team?" Jim glanced over to where Scotty and another lieutenant were sitting on one of the beds, laughing and joking.

Bones snorted. "None of them even have a scratch on them. It's just procedure to keep them here for a few hours to make sure they're fit for duty." Bones glanced over to Chekov and whispered to Jim, "To tell you the truth I'm more worried about Chekov. He came in here with his parents but now he won't get any closer than that."

Jim looked over to where Bones nodded. Chekov had chosen the spot furthest away from his parents in the medical bay and far from looking relieved at having his parents safe, Chekov was looking absolutely terrified. His face had an unhealthy green tinge to it and small beads of sweat were forming on his brow.

"I'll go talk to him." Jim slapped Bones on the shoulder and wandered toward Chekov, trying desperately to think of what he was going to say to him. It occurred to Jim that he had never had many conversations with the young ensign. He was a genius and Jim was glad to see him becoming more confident about voicing his opinion on the bridge; but off duty Jim wasn't sure whether he and Chekov had actually ever interacted.

"Hi." Jim smiled at Chekov.

"Captain," Chekov shuffled awkwardly, "you didn't have to come down here, sir." He refused to meet Jim's gaze and sniffed quietly.

"Chekov, I know this is probably none of my business, but there's something I've got to ask." Jim stated bluntly as he glanced over at the two unconscious Russians. "Are you and your parents alright? I mean, Bones told me you haven't been anywhere near them since they were brought to the medical bay. Don't you want to, you know, see how they're doing for yourself?"

Chekov drew a ragged breath and gazed miserably at his Captain. "I do not sink they would want me to, sir."

"What do you mean?" Jim smiled as kindly as he could. This was getting out of his depth. But he could hardly let his first officer handle these matters; crew morale would plummet. "They're your parents."

Chekov struggled to find the right words. He looked at Captain Kirk. He was giving Chekov a sort of mangled grin so it seemed as if he was in some sort of physical pain. But, Kirk was his Captain. Surely if he could talk to anyone, it was his him.

Chekov decided to take the plunge. "I have not spoken wiz my parents in many years, sir. Zey do not.......like me, sir."

"What?" Jim gave a strained chuckle. "Chekov, that's ludicrous. You're their son. Of course they _like _you."

"No." Chekov blinked back tears. "No, zey don't sir. Zey are wery brilliant people, sir. Zey are well respected by ewybody in ze scientific community. But, zey hate Starfleet. Zey think zat with all ze rules and regulations, Starfleet does not do what it is supposed to do: help people. So, when I decided to enlist, zey disowned me, sir."

"You're serious?" Jim looked back at the Chekovs, whom Bones was currently scanning with his medical tricorder. "Because you did something they didn't approve of they just, what, cut you out of their lives?"

"Exactly, sir." Chekov stared at the parents who had sworn that they never wanted to see him again. "I have not spoken wiz my parents since I was fifteen. And zey have made no attempt to contact me eezer. But now zey are on ze Enterprise and ewyone will know zat my own family sinks me a traitor."

Chekov's expression was so desolate that Jim had a momentary urge to hug him. Instead he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "No one is going to think that. You have no idea how grateful we all are to have you in Starfleet. If it weren't for you, not all of us would be here right now. But, part of me still thinks that maybe this rift between you and your family has gone on for long enough."

Jim paused for a moment to see how Chekov was reacting to his intrusion. He was staring resolutely at his shoes. "You and your _Starfleet_ crewmates helped them and in a way the entire planet of Beta 9. Surely that's proof that we do do some good, despite our stupid rules of which I have never been a great fan, myself." This understatement succeeded in coaxing a small smile form Chekov. "Besides, in the short time in which you guys haven't been talking, you've become a heavily relied upon member of the senior crew of a Starship. That has to count for something."

Chekov grinned. "When you put it like zat.....it does sound as if I have done wery well for myself. I am just not certain zat my parents will see it zat way."

"There's only one way to find out." Jim gave his shoulder a squeeze.

They stood in silence for a moment until Chekov turned to Jim.

"You are right." Chekov took a deep, fortifying breath. "Sank you, sir."

Shaking slightly, he crept over to his parents and placed himself in between their beds; a tentative hand lain on each of their arms.

"Nice job, Jim." Bones appeared at Jim's side. "You may make a decent Captain after all."

Jim laughed. "Thanks for the support, Bones."

Bones lips twitched slightly before he noticed who had just entered his medical bay. Spock had marched through the door, flanked by Uhura and Gail.

Spock went up to Jim, "Captain, I must regrettably inform you that due to the extensive damage to our sensors; we lost the enemy ship beyond the second moon of Beta 9. I have assigned engineering crews to begin repairs to systems but without Mr Scott I do not have an estimate for completion."

"Very good, Commander." Jim beamed at Spock. "By the way, that was some nice work back there. I can honestly say that that idea would have never crossed any of our minds. You should add dropping shields to the Starfleet defence manual."

Spock, as usual, inclined his head slightly. "Thank you, Captain." Then, as if unsure of how exactly how to proceed, he moved slightly to the side to allow Gail to step forward. Gail gazed at Jim warmly. There was no trace of the hostility she had shown previously on the bridge.

Spock and Uhura discreetly moved toward the door while Bones suddenly seemed to decide that Scotty did indeed require some medical attention. Nobody wanted to witness Jim's often painful charm offensive.

Jim smiled at Gail, but to her surprise the words that escaped from his lips were not a chat up line but rather: "Who are the resistance?"

"Excuse me?" Gail's smile faltered slightly.

"Up on the bridge," Jim continued, his mind still in its role of Starfleet Captain, "you said that the ship that attacked us was probably a resistance ship. What resistance is that? I didn't think your colony was in the middle of-"

"It's a little crowded in here for such talk." Gail floated towards Jim with what seemed like a slightly predatory glint in her eyes. "Perhaps somewhere quieter would be more appropriate? And preferably somewhere with food; it has been a while since I ate."

"Oh," Jim seemed thrown. However, it took only a few seconds for his face to light up in understanding. "_Oh_. As the Captain I often have dinner brought directly to my personal quarters. You would be welcome to join me tonight and we could discuss this matter further?"

"Hmmm," Gail looked up at Jim from beneath her eyelashes, "that sounds like a delightful idea."

Gail linked arms with his and they left the medical bay at a brisk pace. Jim looked over his shoulder as they exited and called to Spock, "Spock, could you take the bridge tonight?"

"Of course, Captain." Spock replied just as the automatic doors closed behind them.

Uhura cleared her throat irritably and nudged Spock. "Spock, we were supposed to meet tonight, remember? I was going to cook."

"The role of first officer must come before personal arrangements in such instances, lieutenant." Spock was careful not to meet Uhura's stare as he quickly surveyed the medical bay. Chekov appeared to be talking to himself and every so often he would stop and shake his head angrily, as if he was unsuccessfully rehearsing for something. On either side of him his parents remained still.

Further over, Bones and Scotty seemed to be having an increasingly heated debate but Spock could not ascertain to what it could be concerning. Bones and Scotty had seemed to have formed a solid friendship recently based on their shared complaint that people always seemed to be expecting them to exceed their capacity as Chief Medical Officer and head of Engineering respectively. Spock could not fathom what would cause them to suddenly start arguing.

"Spock," Uhura continued, "if I didn't know you any better, I would say that you were glad to get out of our date tonight."

To Uhura's astonishment, Spock looked almost....sheepish, as he finally met her look. "It seemed unnecessary to tell you at the time so I thought I would simply work around the problem tonight but-"

"Spock, what are you talking about?" Uhura interrupted, folding her arms crossly.

"Nyota," Spock said evenly, "vulcans don't eat meat. I'm a vegetarian."

The giggle left Uhura before she could contain it. She had been expecting far worse than that. Her mind had immediately leapt to his secret mate on the vulcan colony who lived in their small but charming home with two young but scarily intelligent children. However, her relief vanished as it then occurred to her that Spock had lied. Uhura frowned and was about to confront Spock when she saw him hurriedly leaving the medical bay without a backward glance.

"Spock!" Uhura called as she jogged after him and out of the medical bay.

Over on the beds, Scotty and Bones' debate raged on.

"What exactly are you implying?" Scotty challenged. His cheeks had taken on a distinctly pink flush and he was breathing heavily.

"You know exactly what I'm implying!"

"Just you wait!" Scotty wagged a finger in Bones' face. "Just you wait! Gail will kiss me in the end, I know it!"

"Oh, really?" Bones folded his arms and watched Scotty in amusement.

"Aye!" Scotty continued, irked by his friend's doubt. "I bet you that I can make her kiss me by the time she leaves the ship."

"A wager?" Bones stroked his chin as he considered the idea. The thought of Scotty obsessively stalking Gail and undoubtedly making a fool of himself was just too good to let slip by. "Okay, if Gail doesn't kiss you _on the lips_ by the time she leaves the Enterprise, I get that bottle of whiskey you've been hiding in the supply room."

"How did you find about that?" Scotty asked indignantly. "That is my private stash of Glenfiddich."

"Do we have a deal?"

"Wait a sec, wait a sec." Scotty waved Bones to be quiet. "What do I get if she does kiss me?"

"Erm.....you'll have been kissed by an exceedingly beautiful woman?"

"Not enough, I stand something to lose in this bet, so should you!"

"Fine, what do you want?"

"I'm thinking."

"Well?"

"I said, I'm thinking." Scotty racked his brains as he tried to think of what Bones had to offer. "I've got it!"

"What?"

"You've got that book, haven't you? You know, the big one. It's brown. Sort of smelly. No pictures...."

"My first edition Graham Greene?!"

"That's the one."

Bones was about to refuse but then paused to reflect on it. This was Scotty. There was no way Gail was going to ever kiss him. Not in a million years. His first edition was completely safe, nestled comfortably in his trunk. Bones was sure it would read even better while drinking some good whiskey.

"We've got a deal."

The two men shook hands solemnly.

"Alrighty." Scotty hopped off the bed and looked at Bones cheerfully. "I'd better go and shave. The ladies can't resist a clean shaven Scott."

Bones grinned as he watch Scotty leave the medical bay. "This should be fun."


	4. Relationship Minefield

"Spock, wait!"

Uhura had to jog to keep up with Spock's long, graceful strides. She nearly broke into a full run to get inside the turbolift with him before the doors closed. Uhura took a second to catch her breath and then pressed the button to halt the turbolift. She looked up at Spock who was glancing at her somewhat guiltily.

"What was that?" She demanded placing her hands on her hips. "You just left without saying a word."

"Lieutenant-"

"Lieutenant?!"

Spock sighed and turned to Uhura. His left eye twitched as he tried to articulate his thoughts. "Nyota......I am unused to, how shall I say........emotional situations in which I am a part. I am uncertain of how to behave and this uncertainty is often not aided by your impatience for a response."

"Are you saying that I pressure you?" Uhura couldn't quite believe this. She had been all set for a quiet evening with her lovely but decidedly enigmatic boyfriend, when they had received a distress call and now all of a sudden she was having relationship problems.

"No!" Spock sighed. "I simply am unsure of how to act around you."

"Spock," Uhura retorted plainly, "we have been together for about a year. Isn't it a little late for these kind of doubts?"

"They are not doubts, Nyota. They are simply.....worries."

"Worries? Spock-"

"I see I have misspoken yet again." If it was possible, Spock's face became even more impassive, except for his left eye which twitched ever so slightly. "I apologise if I have caused you any offence." Spock leaned over and resumed the turbolift without making further eye contact with Uhura. He clasped his hands behind his back and stared unwaveringly ahead of him.

She attempted to analyse the vulcan mask that was obscuring Spock from view but had little success. Sometimes, Uhura forgot who she was dating. She was with a half-vulcan half-human who was trying to adjust to a completely non-vulcan environment. To her knowledge, Spock was the only crew member aboard the Enterprise with vulcan blood running through their veins. She sighed; maybe she did put too much pressure on him.

Uhura bit her lip as she thought sadly that she may push Spock sometimes; but it was only because she wanted their relationship to move forward. She wanted to be with him. Although, as she had discovered, Spock seemed to have a vulcan's distance with a human's insecurities; no matter how illogical that may sound. It was starting to make things very difficult between them. Uhura just didn't know how to comfort him anymore.

She had to apologise. "Spock-"

She was cut off by the turbolift doors opening on to the bridge. Spock strode out immediately leaving Uhura to trail despondently behind. She went to her station and risked a single glance over her shoulder at the first officer who was sitting rigidly straight in the Captain's chair. She could only see the back of him but she could imagine how his face looked. It would be like a statue's: flawless and serene.

But, in the Captain's chair, Spock's brow was furrowed and he had the preoccupied look of someone who was constantly replaying an event over and over again in their mind. However, the young ensign whom he saw out of the corner of his eye brought him out of his daze as she relieved Uhura. Uhura turned to Spock once more and he smoothed his features into the perfect vulcan mask that he was wearing with an increasing frequency. That mask did not change as he watched Uhura leave the bridge.

At the con, Sulu nodded gratefully to the lieutenant who had just relieved him. He walked purposefully into the turbolift and pressed the button a little more firmly than was really necessary. He was determined to see how Chekov was doing.

Over the past months, Sulu and Chekov had begun to understand each other better. Now, Sulu could decipher Chekov's strong Russian accent without a second thought and the two of them worked so seamlessly together at the con that they were fast becoming the perfect team. They had been for a drink a few times too; although, that did always end the same way: with Sulu hauling a nearly unconscious Chekov through the corridors to his quarters while Chekov blearily sang some Russian drinking song.

Sulu smirked at the thought as he walked into the medical bay. He was glad to see Chekov's mother just waking up and his father seemed to be stirring slightly as well. Between them, Chekov exhaled apprehensively.

"I wouldn't go over there just yet." Bones glided behind Sulu causing him to start.

"Don't worry, I won't. He needs some time to have a proper reunion with his family."

Bones harrumphed. "The outcome of that reunion remains to be seen, however." He shook his head as he walked toward his office. Confused, Sulu followed him.

"Pavel?" Marie Chekov's eyes widened in astonishment as she looked up at her only son.

"Mama." A small smile spread across Chekov's nervous face. He rubbed her arm gently and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Better now." Marie smiled at her son. He had grown since she had last seen him; but then, that was so long ago. She cringed as she remembered the overwhelming pain she had felt the day she had watched him walk along the path to their front gate. With his slumped shoulders and his miniscule pack trailing along the ground, he hadn't even turned round for one last look as he had walked out of their lives.

She grasped his forearm and searched his face for signs of malady or ill treatment. Finding none she told him, satisfied, "You are looking vell. I sink you have grown at least a couple of centimetres since I last saw you." Her Russian accent was even thicker than Chekov's.

Chekov blushed and lowered his head grinning. "Really?"

"Really." She returned his grin, which was identical to his own. "So, my son, vot is it zat you do here? I sot I heard you ven ve ver first beamed aboard. Howewer, I voz barely conscious so I couldn't be sure."

"You heard me. I was at ze transporter controls. But I am actually one of ze nawigators on ze bridge."

"You're part of ze bridge crew?" His mother's grin got even wider as she looked at him proudly.

"Yes, in fact I-"

Chekov stopped short as his father groaned. He shifted uncomfortably on the bed before gradually opening his eyes. They were the same chestnut eyes as his son's.

"Pavel?" He looked startled as he recognised his own son standing over him wearing a Starfleet uniform. However, his surprise quickly faded and was replaced with what Chekov had been dreading: a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.

Chekov instantly withdrew his hand from where he had lain it on his father's arm and inched closer to his mother, who had a pleading look on her face as she stared at her husband. Her grip on Chekov's arm tightened, as if she was afraid of losing him all over again.

"Vot are you doing here?" Jan spat. He glanced sideways at Marie. "Vot are ve doing on a Starfleet wessel?"

"Jan," Marie said in a placating tone, "please. Pavel and his ship rescued us. Ve should be sanking zem not-"

"Not vot?" Jan challenged his wife angrily. He turned to Chekov with a sneer. "You are part of Starfleet now. You have turned your back on everything it means to be a Chekov. You. Are. Dead. To me." He shifted his gaze to the ceiling and folded his arms.

Beside his mother, Chekov fought back tears. He looked at her but she quickly diverted her attention to the floor. Suddenly, Chekov realised that his father hadn't exactly been speaking quietly. He twisted his neck to check behind him and saw Sulu and Bones staring at him and his parents with identical looks of pity mixed with fury. In fact, Chekov noted that Bones had been forced to put a restraining hand on Sulu's shoulder.

He turned back to his father, his face scarlet. He had been afraid this would happen. How could he face his crewmates when they knew about how he had betrayed his family? They would never look at him in the same way again. But, Bones had had to stop Sulu from coming and intervening. Sulu would have come over otherwise. To defend him?

Chekov glanced back at his friend. It looked as if he was actually shaking with anger as he looked in disgust at Jan. Bones placed another restraining hand on his chest and tried unsuccessfully to push him away.

Chekov looked at his mother and then his father. His family....but were they? Families were supposed to support each other. They were supposed to love each other.

Something deep inside Chekov, in a place he had never known existed, snapped.

"Yes, Papa." Chekov straightened. "I am a part of Starfleet and.....and I am proud of it!"

Jan's eyes bore into Chekov. That would have normally intimidated him; but he didn't normally have friends standing a few metres behind him who were ready to leap to his defence. "Yes, Papa. I am. I helped stop Romulans from destroying Earth. I saved the Captain and Lieutenant Sulu's lives on Vulcan. I saved _your_ life. And I saved Mama's life. I am a part of Starfleet and I am proud!"

Without another word, Chekov bent down and kissed Marie on the cheek and then quickly marched towards Bones and Sulu. Sulu smiled comfortingly and patted him on the shoulder.

"That was a nice speech you gave there, kid." Bones smiled and prepared a hypospray. "I think it might be beneficial for his recovery if I sedated your father for a while, you know, he's just been through such an ordeal.....he deserves some rest." He grinned wickedly and walked past Chekov toward his father. For a moment, Chekov felt slightly sorry for him.

"Are you alright?" Sulu examined his expression. "No offence, but you do know that your Dad's an ass, right?"

Chekov giggled. "People have told me as much."

"You know you're the brightest officer in Starfleet and by the time I'm done with you, you'll be a galactic class fencer too. So don't for one second let him get to you."

Chekov smiled. "I sot you said I was too soft for fencing?"

"Yeah, well....." Sulu grinned. "Everybody makes mistakes."

In his quarters, Jim laughed loudly as he clinked glasses with Gail.

"You know, I have to say," Jim said, grinning mischievously, "this is turning into one of the best dinners I have ever had in my quarters. I have to apologise for Scotty though. I didn't even ask for him to bring me any Engineering reports and I have no idea why he kept talking about mistletoe of all things....."

"Or why he then produced a sprig?" Gail joked.

"Yeah....that was pretty weird."

"No matter." Gail leaned in and popped a grape in her mouth. "We're alone now."

"Yes, we are." Jim agreed wholeheartedly. He was about to go into a joke he'd been rehearsing when he noticed what looked like a gash in Gail's shoulder where her dress had slipped down a bit. "Hey," he looked at the gash with concern, "are you alright?"

Gail hastily pulled her dress back into place. "I'm fine."

"Gail-"

"I'm fine." Gail's expression had turned hard.

"Look, if you don't want to go into it that's fine. But can you at least let me take a look at it? I've got a med kit in the bathroom." Jim put down his glass.

"Why are you doing this?" Gail muttered under her breath.

"Sorry?"

She raised her head. "Why are you being so damn nice to me?!"

"Erm, what?" This was a sudden twist of events. One moment ago they had been laughing and flirting and now things seemed to have become deadly serious.

"I can't do this." Gail pushed the chair backwards forcefully so it tipped over and landed on the floor with a loud thud. She hurriedly made for the door.

"Hey!" Jim shot out of his chair and caught her arm. He spun her round to face him and looked into her eyes which were filled with remorse. "Gail, what's going on?"

She whispered back, "I'm sorry. Jim, I'm so sorry. Starfleet and Beta 9 have never seen eye to eye; I never expected you all to be so......kind. I didn't know....I was just carrying out orders. I-"

"Orders?" Jim almost sagged as his mind ran through all the possibilities. He ground his teeth together and asked Gail slowly, "What orders? And for the millionth time, who are the resistance?"

Gail looked at him sadly. They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity, with Jim gripping her arms and his penetrating blue eyes focussed on Gail's face. Finally, taking a deep breath, she confessed.

"Jim, the seismic activity on Beta 9 isn't natural. We're creating the earthquakes artificially to try and get down to mineral deposits buried deep underground. The problem we've been having is that the people who own the land where the mineral deposits are located won't let us have access. That's why we started creating the earthquakes: to begin mining and hopefully force the landowners to leave. But, then they went and called those professors."

"Wait," Jim's mind struggled to process this new information, "so, you intentionally buried the Chekovs' research station? And the resistance are the landowners you've been trying to force out of their homes?"

Gail only nodded.

Jim stood in a perplexed silence. "But.......but why the hell did you call us then?! You sent us a distress call."

"Because how would it look if we didn't? If we hadn't, the resistance would have found a way to contact you and you would have known. You were never supposed to actually reach the Chekovs in time. But you did."

"Then," Jim massaged his temples, "why would the resistance attack us if we had just rescued the people they had called in to help them? Unless......it wasn't the resistance was it? It was you."

Gail choked back her tears and croaked, "I'm sorry."

Jim pushed her away and began pacing. Gail had come aboard to distract them then. They must have been planning to beam her out once their pulse weapon had knocked out most of the Enterprise's systems. At the time Jim had thought Gail was simply sane when she had been trying to convince him not to listen to Spock but now.......everything that she had said had been a lie. Then a thought occurred to him. "So the Chekovs' probes...they worked? I mean, they interfered with whatever you were using to cause the earthquakes?"

Gail nodded and mouthed 'yes'. She looked so forlorn but Jim didn't care. Right now he was remembering the expression of complete despair on Chekov's face as he looked at the parents Gail and her people tried to have murdered.

"Right then," Jim looked at her coldly, "if that's the case, I have a plan."


	5. Kirk's Plan

"That's your plan?"

Jim gave an exasperated sigh as he looked at Uhura. She seemed to be in a foul mood which mirrored Jim's own. He looked round the assembled party. As well as several security personnel there was Uhura, Spock, Scotty, Bones and Sulu. Only Chekov was absent, but Jim had thought it best to let him spend some more time with his parents. To the side Gail stood alone, looking at Jim mournfully.

"Yes." He resigned himself to having to explain his quickly improvised plan yet again. "The Chekovs' probes work. Now, the only way to save the people on Beta 9 from the earthquakes which, by the way, their own government have been causing is to get to that research station and get those probes working again. Scotty and his team already cleared the way so we don't have to worry about excavating."

Jim paused for breath and checked to see whether Uhura was going to interrupt. She glared at him irritably but seemed to be keeping quiet so he continued, "Scotty will man the transporter while I beam down to the planet with security personnel and Commander Spock, who, out of all of us, is the most likely be able to figure out how to operate the probes. Mr Sulu will have the con and Uhura will keep an open channel with us at all times so Scotty can beam us up at the first sign of trouble. Bones, you'll stay here with a medical team just in case anything goes wrong. And......well, that's it."

Uhura turned to Spock. "Aren't you going to remind him that Captains and First Officers shouldn't go on away missions together?"

Spock arched his eyebrow and replied, "I fail to see the point of such an endeavour as the Captain will simply ignore regulation and beam down to the planet anyway."

"You know me too well." Jim grinned at Spock. "Okay, so if there aren't any further questions....."

"I have one, Captain." Scotty ventured. "Wouldn't young Mr Chekov be better suited for this mission than Commander Spock?"

"I have every faith in Spock's abilities, Scotty." Jim tried to glimpse Spock's reaction discreetly. Both Spock's eyebrows had been raised and his face seemed to have turned slightly greener than normal. After a moment's thought it occurred to Jim that since a vulcan's blood is green; that Spock might actually be blushing. Jim failed to suppress a smile as he elaborated, "Besides, Chekov has some family issues to deal with and in my opinion that means that he's been compromised. He has too much personal interest in this mission and he would be more of a hazard than a help."

"And that's your reason for not assigning him to the away team?" Bones countered sceptically.

"Alright," Jim admitted with a shrug, "I may also believe that our resident boy wonder deserves a break after everything that's happened today. But my other reason still stands."

"It's a wise decision, Captain." Sulu nodded in agreement. "And Chekov really could use a break."

"Good, then that's settled." Jim clapped his hands together and was about to step on to the pad when an uncomfortable cough stopped him.

Gail shied forward and tried her best to ignore the several angry stares now trained on her. She couldn't bring herself to look at Jim as she managed to choke out the words she had been trying to release ever since she had come into the transporter room after him. "I know how you all must think of me and I can't begin to tell you all how sorry I am for all of this. But going down to the surface is not a good idea. It's-"

"Thank you for your input, Minister." Jim interrupted icily. "But I think we've wasted enough of our time listening to you. Let's go, everyone."

Everyone dispersed without a second look at Gail. Uhura and Sulu marched briskly out of the room to head to the bridge while Bones walked over to the intercom and issued orders to his team in the medical bay. Jim and Spock took their places on the pad with the rest of the away team behind them and Jim looked at Spock questioningly; Uhura hadn't said goodbye. Spock looked resolutely ahead of him and avoided the Captain's inquiring gaze. Scotty shuffled past Gail and took his seat at the transporter controls. He glanced sideways at Gail and shook his head sadly. Gail was sure she heard him mutter something about it 'being _his_ private stash' under his breath.

Despite himself, Bones chuckled darkly as he placed himself behind Scotty. His face seemed oddly triumphant.

Scotty took a moment to throw Bones a sharp look over his shoulder and mouthed, "Oh, shut up."

"Scotty?" Jim drew his phaser and set it to stun.

"Target acquired, Captain." Scotty fingers skilfully flew over the controls. "The ground's still a wee bit unstable in the immediate area of the research station so I'll be putting you about 200m west."

Jim nodded. "Energise."

The last thing Jim saw before the light of the transporter enveloped him was Gail beginning to cry. Jim didn't have any time to think about the duplicitous Gail, however; as they rematerialised on the surface of Beta 9. Jim briefly surveyed his surroundings.

In the distance, fields filled with vines stretched for miles. The air was a little thinner than on Earth but it was also slightly colder. To the East was a large mountain of rubble under which the Chekovs' research station was buried.

"Ok, let's get this over with as fast as possible." Jim led the way across the dusty ground, closely followed by Spock. Bringing up the rear, three officers aimed their phasers warily at the horizon.

"Here's the way in." Jim peered through the narrow gap, which Scotty had created in the rubble, into what was left of the research station. He turned to his first officer uncertainly, "Will you be okay in there? There can't be much air."

"My part vulcan physiology enables me to function in thinner air better than humans. I should be able to focus on the task at hand, even in such a tightly packed environment." Spock proceeded to step past Jim and climbed agilely through the gap and into the remains of the station.

He carefully examined all the equipment which, miraculously, had survived the earthquake relatively unscathed. Finally, satisfied that all systems were operational, Spock began to try and decode the Chekovs' security algorithms to gain access to the probes that would potentially save the inhabitants of Beta 9.

Outside, Jim and the other officers kept watch with their phasers at the ready. Jim was continually scanning the landscape for any signs of movement but he found none. Every so often he would turn and watch Spock work; his face frowning with concentration as he used every method he could think of to get past the security measures.

After twenty minutes Jim was preparing to contact Chekov and tell him that his presence was required after all when a small hum came from Spock's direction. Jim squinted through the dust and saw that the frown had disappeared from Spock's features; he supposed that that small hum was a vulcan version of 'aha!'.

"Spock?"

"Captain," Spock said calmly, "I have managed to get past their security and am now attempting to realign the probes to allow activation."

Jim grinned. "I knew you could do it."

Spock simply acknowledged the compliment with a lowering of his head as he swiftly manipulated the controls.

"Ensign McCarthy," Jim ordered one of the officers, "contact the Enterprise. Tell them that Commander Spock has successfully bypassed security systems and is now attempting to re-activate the probes."

"Aye, aye Captain."

"Oh!" Jim added as the officer withdrew his communicator, "And tell them to beam down some charges. We need to bury the station so Gail's people don't just simply walk in there and deactivate the probes."

"Aye, sir."

While the officer relayed his Captain's instructions, Jim checked on Spock's progress. He was making fast work of it. The probes had been realigned and now Spock was creating new passcodes before activation that would hopefully allow the probes to be operated remotely.

Spock rose and made his way out of the ruins of the research station. "Captain, I must inform you burying the station will most likely result in blocking the signal from the computer to the probes and as the ground is still unstable there would be considerable danger to us."

"I know," Jim hoped he wasn't about to make a fool of himself, "but I thought if we just set off enough charges to cover that gap and make it harder for them to get at then it still wouldn't block the signal. And surely if we placed the charges in the exact right points we could make sure the ground didn't fall away beneath our feet."

Jim held his breath as Spock considered the matter. Eventually he responded, "Your plan has merit, Captain. If we strategically place the charges to add approximately 2.3m of rock to the current debris the signal will remain unaffected."

"Great." Jim sighed with relief. He was always anxious when suggesting things to Spock. Nobody could make him feel as stupid and frankly, childish as Spock could. Nobody.

Following Scotty's instructions from the Enterprise as he quickly did the calculations, the away team laid the charges where they were told all around the research station. After entering the delay time they ran quickly to a safe distance and watched as the charges detonated and rock came tumbling down upon the station sending up a mushroom cloud of dust.

"Kirk to Enterprise," Jim spoke into his communicator, "mission complete. Beam us o-"

Jim's transmission was cut off by a shot that narrowly missed his head. He wheeled round to see several armed men approaching the away team.

The away team began to return fire as they dived for cover. Jim yelled into his communicator, "Enterprise we're under attack! Beam us out of here!"

"I can't get a lock on your signal." Scotty's frustrated voice crackled through the communicator. "It's their weapons. Somehow, their energy configuration is disrupting the signal. That means we can't beam you back until they've stopped firing."

Jim cursed under his breath. He supposed they would have to fight their way out of there before reinforcements were called. He looked over at Spock who was sheltering behind a boulder with one of the security officers. Their eyes met in a moment of shared understanding and Spock began talking urgently with the officer who relayed the news to the other members of the away team who were taking cover behind a tree further away.

Jim's body tensed as the soldiers advanced. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he prepared to step out. He counted down in his mind. 3.....2...........1! Jim leapt out and knocked the first soldier down before ducking to avoid another shot. Immediately, Spock and the others emerged into the open and joined the fight.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Jim wasn't sure how his crew were faring as he shot, punched and kicked the soldiers of Beta 9. In a matter of seconds, Jim realised that he had sustained an injury to his left knee and his nose was well and truly bloodied but he carried on regardless.

It seemed like he had missed a large chunk of the fight as, after knocking a third soldier unconscious, Jim turned to see the four other members of the away team unharmed, standing in the middle of their now unconscious attackers. Spock had lost his phaser and by the look of his bruising hand it seemed as if he had been forced into hand to hand combat. For a split second, Jim identified with whichever unlucky soldiers had had to face Spock in a fist fight. He flinched at the memory of his own with his now first officer.

The three security officers gathered together to exchange accounts of the fight and Spock began to make his way toward the Captain. As he approached however, his eyes widened and he broke into a run.

Jim twisted to his left to see a lone soldier who they had missed pointing his weapon directly at him. The soldier's lips curved into a malicious grin as he squeezed the trigger.

But then suddenly Jim wasn't looking at the soldier and the blinding light of the shot that had just been fired; he was looking at the back of his first officer: the first officer who had just stepped straight into the line of fire.

"SPOCK!"

Jim heard Spock grunt with pain as the shot connected with his chest. Spock staggered and began to fall backwards. Jim quickly rushed to catch him.

As he did so, Jim deftly fired his phaser at the soldier and was satisfied to see that it got him squarely in the abdomen. But whatever positive feelings Jim had vanished as he sank under Spock's weight. Jim threw his phaser aside and drew his communicator, "Enterprise, beam us out now! Spock's injured! Repeat, Spock is down!"

"I'm just compensating for the residual energy, hang on." Came the frantic reply.

Jim barely heard it as he looked at Spock who, as he gasped for breath, almost seemed to be becoming lighter in his arms. There was a large burn mark on his uniform but Jim didn't see any blood.

"Spock," Jim whispered hoarsely, "it's going to be okay. It's going to be okay."

Spock opened his mouth as if to answer but no sound came out. His eyelids began to droop and his head began to loll to the side.

"No!" Jim gripped Spock firmly, "No, Spock! Don't close your eyes."

Jim shook him slightly. "Spock did you hear me?! You've got to keep conscious. Spock!"

Spock closed his eyes.


	6. In the Medical Bay

Jim couldn't stop shaking.

He hadn't been able to ever since they had been transported back aboard the Enterprise and Bones and his team had rushed Spock to the medical bay. That's where he was now. A nurse had tended to his knee while Bones frantically yelled orders as he and several nurses surrounded Spock. Someone had drawn the curtain around the bed though so all Jim had to go on was what he heard. Next to him, Chekov sat rigidly with his eyes also fixed on the curtain surrounding Spock's bed.

Jim couldn't get his head around it. Spock had taken the shot for him. He'd saved his life. But why? Why the hell would he do something like that? He wasn't worth that kind of dedication.......or was it not just simply dedication? Jim thought back to the kind, wizened version of Spock he had met on Delta Vega and what he had said: "_I have been and always shall be, your friend, Jim_."

For the first time in a while, Chekov tore his eyes away from Spock's shrouded bed and glanced up at his Captain. Jim's eyes were glistening as tears threatened to spill over and destroy whatever self control he had left. Chekov placed a tentative hand on his back, remembering how he had felt hours earlier as he had watched Bones treat his parents.

Jan hadn't woken up again. Chekov very nearly smiled as he appreciated how strong a sedative Bones had given his father. That was almost definitely against the medical code, but it had given his mother and him a chance to talk. He hadn't realised how much he had missed her, or how much she had missed him. She was now sound asleep, snoring softly.

Chekov wondered how to comfort his Captain as he had comforted him earlier. He knew Spock and the Captain were always arguing and going against each other but underneath the bravado, Chekov knew that, in a way, the Captain looked up to Spock and wanted to impress him. And he knew that the Captain exasperated and fascinated the Commander in equal measure; and that Spock respected Captain Kirk for it.

"He'll be alright, Captain." Chekov reassured him. "Commander Spock is a wery strong iniwidual. He can get sroo zis."

Jim only nodded but he made no attempt to remove Chekov's hand or dissuade him from talking further. Taking this as a sign to continue, Chekov opened his mouth to speak but stopped as he saw Scotty, Sulu and Uhura run into the medical bay.

"What happened?" Uhura demanded between sobs. Beside her, Sulu and Scotty also looked to their Captain, waiting to hear what he had to say.

Jim looked at Uhura through his misty vision and tried to compose himself. "We were attacked." Jim spoke numbly, as if he couldn't quite believe it himself. "We thought we had won but there was one we'd missed. He just came out of nowhere. He would have killed me but....but Spock stepped in front of me and took the shot."

A louder sob escaped Uhura before she could stop herself. How could this be happening? She covered her mouth and scanned Jim's face for any possible signs of exaggeration. But Jim didn't look anything like himself; he was pale, subdued and his eyes which normally shone with enthusiasm now shone with unshed tears. He wasn't exaggerating.

Chekov, Scotty and Sulu didn't move a muscle as they absorbed this information.

"Don't worry, lass." Scotty put his arm around Uhura. "He'll pull through. You of all people should know that he's possibly even more stubborn than our Captain here. He won't let a wee problem like being shot stand in his way."

"It's not just that." Uhura managed to say tearfully. "Spock and I......we had a fight. It was earlier today, before the mission. How could that have been the last conversation we ever had?"

"Well it's not going to be the last!" Jim gazed at Uhura furiously. "Bones is the finest doctor in Starfleet. Spock's going to make it through this so don't you dare start talking like that.....like there's no hope left."

"He's right." Sulu moved to stand by Chekov. "The Commander has dealt with worse stuff than this and Bones is nothing short of a miracle worker. He'll be fine."

"Exactly." Jim echoed. "He'll be fine."

No one disagreed with him and Scotty walked Uhura to the other side of the Captain, so they were all facing the curtain hiding their injured comrade. They stayed like that as if frozen. The only indication that proved that they were still living was the tears that steadily rolled down Uhura's cheeks and the continual shivering of their Captain.

No one knew how much time had passed before the curtain was finally drawn and the nurses filed out with their trays of medical implements. Jim immediately jumped off the bed and, ignoring the burning pain in his left knee, ran to his first officer's side.

Jim unconsciously reeled back; he had never seen Spock look like that. He looked so weak and vulnerable.

His crew obviously thought the same as they collectively gasped as they gathered around his bed. Uhura stroked Spock's cheek lovingly but Spock didn't move.

"He's so cold." Uhura whimpered.

"Bones," Jim didn't look away from Spock's face, "is he-"

"He's alive. But barely."

No words Bones had ever spoken had been better received by the senior crew of the Enterprise. Uhura laughed with relief and hugged Scotty, who was grinning from ear to ear. Sulu clapped Chekov on the back and the two of them smiled ecstatically at each other. Jim thought he would collapse as the weight was lifted from his chest and was forced to steady himself on the bed.

"That's great, Bones."

"Jim-"

"So when's he going to wake up?"

"Jim-"

"We need to-"

"Jim!" Bones snapped as he massaged his temples. "Spock's in a coma."

"What?" Chekov breathed, gripping Sulu's arm as everyone gazed at Bones in horror.

"Look," Bones began, "whatever weapon they used on Spock has caused his mind to close in on itself. Near as I can figure, it's kind of like the pulse weapon they used on the ship. The weapon has interfered with his synaptic pathways and so his mind has just shut down as a defence mechanism. Thankfully the other physical effects are just minor."

"So," Jim looked at his friend expectantly, "what does that mean? What are you going to do?"

"Jim," Bones shook his head, "there's nothing I can do. All I know is that if Spock were fully human, he would be dead right now. The only reason he survived is because the Vulcan brain is so much more complex than the human brain."

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do?" Uhura asked, barely audible. "We can't just leave him like this."

"Yeah," Sulu added, "there's got to be some way of bringing him out of it."

Jim looked helplessly at the comatose Spock. His skin lacked any sort of colour and had an almost translucent quality to it. If it weren't for the deep, regular rise and fall of his chest; Jim would have sworn that Spock was dead.

Beside Jim, Bones ran a hand through his hair as he went over the possibilities in his mind. He had taken a few classes on vulcan physiology at the Academy but nothing that could have prepared him for this. Vulcans weren't very forthcoming when it came to discussing themselves with other races anyway so the lectures which Bones could remember weren't even that useful.

Bones looked up the monitor above the bed which displayed Spock's brain activity. There was a vague pattern to the spikes of the readout but nothing that could suggest an answer. But.....no.....yes! If they could only.....but that would mean going back down there. If someone else was hit by one of those things they would die.

"What is it, Bones? You've thought of something." Jim perked up as he saw the idea form on Bones' face.

"There's no guarantee that it would work."

"So?!" Scotty returned. "We can't just do nothing."

"It would mean going down to the planet again and I can't allow anyone else to risk their lives. I know Spock would say the same thing." At the mention of his regular sparring partner Bones glanced down at him guiltily.

"Bones," Jim grasped his shoulder and looked into his eyes, "we risk our lives on every away mission. Now, Spock stuck his neck out for me and I intend to return the favour. So, what have you got?"

"Like I said, I'm not sure it would work. But, you see that readout there?" Bones pointed to one of repeating wave patterns on the monitor.

"That looks more like an energy signature I would see in Engineering than brainwaves." Scotty muttered as he peered at the screen along with everyone else.

"That's because it is." Bones sighed as he tried to wrap his head around the mechanics of his theory. "I think that this is basically the energy signature of the weapon which caused Spock's coma. Now, hypothetically, I could modify a neural stimulator to give out the inverse of that frequency to cancel out that signature and re-establish the synaptic pathways sort of like Spock modified the Enterprise's warp field."

"Great!" Jim squeezed Bones' shoulder. "Let's do it then."

"It's not that simple, Jim." Bones grumbled. "Spock's own brain signals have distorted the energy signature. I need to know the actual frequency used by those weapons before I modify the neural stimulator. Which means.......someone has got to go back down to the surface of Beta 9 and steal one of those weapons to bring to the medical bay."

"Okay." Jim made as if to leave before Bones grabbed him.

"Hey! I don't want to have to patch you up again, Jim. You can't just go down there without a plan!"

Jim looked around at his crew and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "You're right." He held his head in his hands as he tried to force his brain to think. He was aware of everyone's eyes upon him and he could sense them all tense in expectation.

"Okay then." Jim looked up and addressed his crew. "Chekov, I know you've had a rough day but I need you at the con."

"Of course, sir."

"Uhura," Jim spoke as gently as he could while his head kept spinning, "I need you to contact Starfleet Command. Tell them about what the Beta 9 government are up to and request reinforcements. We can't deal with this alone and it won't be long before they start to try and get into the station to deactivate those probes."

Uhura stared at Spock for a moment before replying. "Yes, Captain."

"Scotty, I want you to go to Engineering and get all the equipment Bones will need and then report to Transporter Control."

"Aye, Captain." Scotty didn't wait to hear the rest of the briefing and sprinted out of the medical bay doors.

"Mr Sulu, I know from experience how good you are in a fight so I'm asking you to accompany me in the away team."

"I wouldn't miss it, Captain."

"And Bones......" Jim took a deep breath before saying, "take care of Spock."

They all took a moment to look down at the statuesque form of their first officer before heading in their separate directions.

Once they had all gone Bones laid his hand lightly on Spock's arm, "We'll soon have you up and annoying us again in no time. Well, you'd better be anyway. Who else can I have a decent argument with on this ship?"


	7. On the Surface

"You can't seriously be going back down there!"

Jim didn't break his stride as he heard Gail's panicked cry. "What do you care?"

"Jim!" Gail ran and managed to draw level with Jim and Sulu, who had just retrieved his expandable sword, "I know you're upset but this is just too dangerous. I mean, look at what happened to Spock."

"Don't you dare talk about him!" Jim yelled as he wheeled round to face her, his azure eyes blazing. "You're the one who brought us here in the first place, _Minister_. So don't you dare pretend like you care about any of us for one second."

"But I do." Gail whispered. "And I'll prove it to you. Let me go with you to the surface. I can help."

Jim laughed mirthlessly. "You really expect me to trust you after all the lies you've told? I'm done listening to what you have to say."

"Jim," Gail pleaded, "if you go in guns blazing someone else will get hurt. I could talk to them and trick them into giving up their weapons."

"Well, I do admit that you are very experienced at tricking people." Jim narrowed his eyes. "But if you think I'm going to risk any more lives because of your deceit then you are sadly mistaken. Let's go, Sulu."

"Aye, sir." Sulu studied Gail as she persisted in following them. He whispered to Jim as they walked, "Sir, are you sure that we should leave Gail here? Even if she did give us up, we'd only just get into a fight that we're already headed for anyway. I mean, if she is being sincere then it would be a hell of a lot safer than a shoot-out. And if she's not, then she'll simply not be on the Enterprise anymore and we'll just have to fight for one of those weapons."

Jim sighed irritably. Sulu had a point. He'd already very nearly lost Spock in a shoot-out on the surface. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt down there and if there was even the slightest chance that Gail was being honest with him then he had to bring her along.

Resisting the feeling that he was suddenly unbearably dirty, Jim looked sideways at Gail and forced out the words he knew he had to say. "Okay, you can come. Do what you do, get us one of those weapons and if I even suspect that you're about to betray us I will shoot you without a moment's hesitation. Got it?"

"Okay, Jim."

"It's Captain Kirk, to you."

The three of them entered the transporter room. Scotty was already in his seat but the absence of his customary grin brought the unusual seriousness of the situation back home to Jim. Scotty looked up and took a few deep breaths while mopping the sheen of sweat from his forehead; he had obviously been sprinting around the ship to get Bones the equipment he needed and then to locate a target for the away team.

"Sir," Scotty adjusted the controls as he spoke, "we've detected life signs in the vicinity of the Chekovs' research station. It looks like they're trying to get in there already. Since they'll definitely be armed I'll be putting you 50m south behind the major part of the rubble. Hopefully, it should hide the transport."

"Okay, Scotty." Jim drew his phaser and set it to kill. "Keep a lock on us at all times; as soon as one of us has one of their weapons I want you to beam whoever it is out of there."

"Understood, Captain."

"Energise."

The away team were greeted by the sounds of heavy machinery as they rematerialised on Beta 9. Jim motioned for everyone to be quiet and they all gathered at the tip of the heap of jagged rocks and peered out at the scene before them. Three men were operating some kind of drill at the side of the station in an attempt to reach the buried computers. Surrounding them, four armed men stood guard.

"Okay," Gail took a deep breath, "here I go."

Before anyone could stop her, she slipped out from behind the outcrop and made her way towards the group of men. She had almost reached the station when one of the men finally noticed her.

"Halt!" Four weapons pointed directly at Gail.

Gail tried her best to smile casually and raised her hands slightly as she continued her approach. "Gentlemen, I am Minister Gail De Luci of the Central Authority. I have come to supervise the excavation of the station."

No one lowered their guns until the soldier's face at the far left lit up in recognition. "Apologies, Minister." They immediately lowered their weapons and looked vaguely ashamed of having threatened a government Minister; especially such a young, stunning government Minister.

"No harm done." Gail flashed what she hoped was a dazzling smile at them as she lowered her hands. "What is our progress so far?"

"Minister," One of the men operating the drill responded, "we estimate that we have just over a metre of rock left to drill through."

"Then carry on, soldier." Gail sauntered up to one of the guards and stood easily beside him.

Her stomach plummeted as she realised that she had absolutely no idea what to do now. She casually surveyed the guards; each one of them had a firm hold on their weapon. So simply snatching one and making a run for it was out of the question. She wasn't used to making stuff up on the spot. Normally she had a detailed plan of attack; like she'd had before she transported on to the Enterprise.

She had followed it with ease but then everyone had been so kind to her and not at all superior as popular opinion of Starfleet officers on Beta 9 had led her to believe. Especially Jim. He had been so lovely to her and all the while she had been deceiving him. The guilt she felt was so acute that Gail had to make a conscious effort not to cry.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she thought of what to do. The drill was getting closer to the station; if they made it all the way through Jim and his team would be forced to attack to stop them.....and they would get hurt. That thought spurred her on as she begged silently for inspiration to strike.

Then, inspiration struck.

"I saw something!" Gail clutched the nearest guard's arm tightly. "Over there, by those bushes."

The guards immediately raised their weapons and as a single entity they began to creep forward towards the bushes which were on the opposite side of the outcrop from the away team. But before they could get too far, Gail grabbed a passing guard and looked desperately into his eyes.

"Please." She hoped she wasn't being too melodramatic. "Can't one of you stay here to protect me?"

The three guards in front all sighed with annoyance but the fourth, who blushed under Gail's gaze, hurriedly replied, "Of course I'll stay and protect you. Don't you worry about a thing, Minister." He smiled shyly.

Gail smiled back at him and watched as the others advanced towards the bushes. As she had hoped, the away team took the chance to steal out from behind the rocks and dashed towards her and the lone guard. The men working on the drill carried on oblivious to what was happening and the guard who Gail was holding on to was too preoccupied with watching his comrades to notice the several Starfleet officers stealthily moving in from the opposite direction.

By the time Gail had hastily dropped his arm and sprang away, the guard only had time to briefly register that something was wrong before Jim's fist made contact with his face, sending him into a world of darkness.

Jim picked up his weapon and tossed it to Ensign McCarthy. "Kirk to Enterprise," Jim spoke into his communicator softly so the sound of the drill would drown it out, "beam Ensign McCarthy back to the Enterprise now."

"Hey!" One of the men at the drill had been distracted by the brilliant light of the transporter. The others stopped what they were doing and looked at the Starfleet officers who seemed to have replaced their guards in confusion. They turned off the drill and shouted for help before Sulu could knock them out. From by the bushes, the three remaining soldiers broke into a run and began to fire.

"Everyone take cover!" Jim cried as he dragged Gail behind the station.

Sparks flew as the soldiers' shots caught the rocks that had buried the station and Jim quickly looked around to make sure everyone was alright. Jim tried to quickly decide whether to beam back to the Enterprise or to stay and fight. He didn't want to risk his crew's lives but he couldn't just go and leave the soldiers to man the drill and get into the station.

His rapid train of thought was interrupted by Uhura's voice coming from his communicator. "Captain, the U.S.S. Krematek has just arrived after being diverted from their science mission in the next system. They have orders from Starfleet Command to arrest the Ministers of Beta 9. They'll be beaming down to back you up shortly."

"Thanks, Uhura." Jim looked briefly at Gail. Considering that she had just heard that she was about to be arrested, she didn't look too upset. However, that was probably just because she was afraid of being killed by the fast approaching soldiers before anyone had the chance to shackle her.

"Okay," Jim yelled to the rest of his team, "reinforcements are on the way so we're only going to have to hold them off for a little while longer. Everybody draw phasers!"

Jim scuffled along the ground with his phaser poised and was joined momentarily by Sulu who gave him an encouraging pat on the soldier before getting into position to attack. Jim inhaled sharply as he felt the familiar surge of adrenaline. Bones was right: he really did get into these situations way too often.

"Wait until they get within 30m." Jim ordered. "Their weapons have a larger range than ours do."

"Aye, Captain." The away team chorused as they all mentally prepared themselves.

"Alright," Jim said softly, more to himself than anyone else, "let's do this."

Jim was about to leap out when the sounds of yelling halted him midway. He could hear the sounds of shots being fired and two sides crying out orders.

"It must be the reinforcements." Sulu said gratefully as the sounds of the battle suddenly ceased.

"That was fast." Jim muttered as he raised an eyebrow at Sulu.

"Yeah....but who won?"

Jim was about to answer but the appearance of someone from behind the rubble caused him to jump and aim his phaser at the shadowed figure.

"Captain Kirk?" A young man in a red Starfleet uniform smiled nervously.

"Yep." Jim grinned at the officer, lowering his phaser. He emerged from behind the station and took in the unconscious soldiers and the small group of Starfleet officers who still had their phasers pointed at them warily. Jim looked at the officer and congratulated him, "You guys have great timing."

"Thank you, sir." The officer suddenly noticed Gail. "Sir, we have orders to arrest all-"

"I'll come quietly." Gail smiled sadly as he turned to Jim. "But, can I come back to the Enterprise first? There's just a little something I need to do."

Jim stared at her suspiciously. He didn't like the sound of that. But, she had just helped him potentially bring Spock out of his coma......after she contributed to the events that put him there in the first place.

Jim pondered for a further minute before nodding in assent and speaking into his communicator, "Enterprise, six to beam up."


	8. On the Enterprise

In the transporter room, Chekov stood beside his parents. Starfleet Command had ordered that they were to be brought back to Earth for questioning on the U.S.S. Krematek. Chekov sighed as he reflected that this wouldn't improve his father's opinion of Starfleet at all. It had already been diminished further after Bones had sedated him unnecessarily.

Marie squeezed his hand. "Now, you promise to wisit ze next time you are back on Earth?"

"I promise, Mama." Chekov smiled as he squeezed his mother's hand back. Jan refused to acknowledge the situation and stood silently, waiting for the away team to come back so that he, his wife and that Beta 9 government Minister could be transported on to the Krematek.

Chekov noted that although his father hadn't spoken a word to him since he had awoken for the second time, his eyes had lost the loathing look that had made Chekov's insides twist alarmingly in pain. Maybe standing up to him had been what Jan had needed to see to be able to respect him, even though he was a member of Starfleet. They weren't exactly on good terms again, but it was a step in the right direction.

"I vish ve had more time togezer," Marie said wistfully, "but you are a wery important member of zis crew so I suppose you couldn't have spent much time wiz us anyvay."

Chekov blushed. "I would have made time for you, Mama."

"Oh, Pavel." Marie sighed and kissed her son on the cheek. She looked up at her husband but she knew from his stance that he wasn't going to say anything no matter how much she pleaded with him. Maybe one day, the two men in her life would be able to talk to each other once again. Maybe when Pavel visited and Jan didn't feel as uncomfortable, they could begin to rebuild their shattered relationship and their family.

"Alright, Captain," Scotty spoke into the communication system, "I've managed to lock on to your signal. Energising."

On the transporter pad Jim, Sulu, Gail and three security officers rematerialised. As they stepped off Jan instantly walked forward and took his place on the pad. Marie sighed yet again and hugged her son tightly. She breathed in his smell which had changed ever so slightly since he had left home and focussed on committing it to memory. But, she refused to cry even though the thought that she didn't know when she would see Chekov again hammered in her brain. "Take care, Pavel."

"You too, Mama." Chekov replied, although it was slightly muffled as he buried his face in his mother's hair.

Marie pulled back and smiled as she looked her son up and down. She was so proud of him.

"Lieutenant Scott?" Gail walked up to Scotty.

Scotty rose from his chair. "What do you want?" His glare seemed uncharacteristic of his usual jovial face.

"Well," Gail smiled, "I couldn't help but overhear you and Bones muttering to each other earlier. Something about a bet, I believe?"

"Oh," Scotty's face was ashen, "ah......well, you see......the thing about that is......well, you s-"

Scotty's explanation was cut off as Gail reached forward and kissed him. Scotty's eyes widened as his brain hurriedly tried to process what was happening. Gail pulled back and grinned. "Now, if Doctor McCoy gives you any trouble you can tell him that there were plenty of witnesses."

"That's true." Scotty grinned back as he surveyed the sea of disbelieving faces. He turned back to Gail, "I know you're a liar and everything....but you wouldn't want to get a drink later, would you?"

"Sorry, Mr Scott." Gail's smile saddened. "But I'll most likely be in a brig tonight on the way to Earth. Then who knows how long I'll be in jail. Rain check?"

"I'll hold you to it."

Gail turned back and started to move slowly to join Jan and Marie on the pad. Her eyes met Jim's and she slowed down as he came towards her.

"What will happen to you? No offence, but you don't exactly strike me as the hard labour type." Jim didn't look sorry for her by any means, but Gail thought she detected a trace of sympathy in his features.

"I don't know." Gail whispered. She took Jim's face in her hands and pulled it to hers so that their foreheads were resting against one another and the tips of their noses were just touching. "On Beta 9, this is the customary goodbye. I'll miss you, Jim."

Jim sighed and leant forward to kiss Gail gently. "I think I'll actually miss you too."

Gail gave a strained laugh and walked on to the pad.

"Are you alright?" Sulu asked Chekov with concern.

Chekov looked back at Sulu gravely. "Yes, I sink so. At least I know now that my Mama loves me if not my Papa."

"Well," Jim moved to the other side of Chekov and slapped him playfully on the back, "that's his loss and our gain."

Chekov blushed and grinned. Standing between his Captain and his friend, Chekov watched as the brilliant white light of the transporter began to surround his parents. His father still wouldn't acknowledge him but his mother smiled and mouthed, 'I love you, Pavel' as she disappeared from view. Chekov smiled shakily and mouthed back, 'I know'. Behind her, Gail kept her eyes locked on Jim until the last.

When the light dimmed, the Chekovs and Gail were aboard the Krematek and the transporter room was silent.

"Come on," Scotty joined his three friends as they stood still looking at the transporter pad, "Bones should have finished modifying that neural stimulator by now. We should get to the medical bay."

"You're right." Jim agreed and they turned and walked deliberately out through the doors and down the corridor which would take them to the medical bay.

"Captain!" Uhura emerged from the turbolift and joined them as they continued walking. "The Krematek has departed."

"Already?"

"Well, since Beta 9 always seems to be apart from the Federation even though they are technically still a part of it, Starfleet Command wants to process this as quickly as possible before they have a chance to find some loophole in the law."

"Makes sense." Sulu said to Jim.

"True," Jim replied, "but I still wanted to thank them for saving our asses down on Beta 9."

"I can hail them for you, sir." Uhura offered.

"I know," Jim smiled, "I just wanted to do it in person, that's all."

They entered the medical bay and made straight for Spock's bed. Leaning over Spock, Bones was placing the neural stimulator on his temple. He looked up as the rest of the senior crew approached.

"There's still no guarantee that this is going to work, you know."

"Ever the optimist, Bones." Jim replied not looking away from Spock's unmoving face. He moved to stand by Spock's hand and Uhura mirrored his movement on the other side of the bed. Sulu, Scotty and Chekov all stood together at the foot of the bed, watching the monitors nervously.

"Okay," Bones glanced up at the monitors, "I'm initiating neural stimulation." He leaned over and activated the neural stimulator. A small red light flashed rhythmically on the neural stimulator and they watched as the readouts on the monitors began to change.

They observed in silence as the readout showing the weapon signature present in Spock's brain began to oscillate irregularly and then slowly began to get weaker.

"It's working." Whispered Chekov as he, along with everyone else, gazed at the readout intently.

"Even when it's gone," Bones retorted, "we still need to wait to see whether Spock's synaptic pathways are restored."

"The signal's gone." Scotty informed them as he gripped on to the foot of the bed. They all turned their attention to the other readouts displaying Spock's brain activity.

At first there was no change and Jim could feel his heart rate increase as his hands became clammy. But then, gradually, the signals began to change. No one wanted to voice an opinion in case they jinxed anything so they looked to Bones.

Bones kept watching the readouts until he finally switched off the monitors. He turned to everyone with a relieved smile, "It worked."

Jim gripped Bones' shoulder and laughed thankfully. He placed his hand on Spock's arm, "Spock? Spock, can you hear me?"

The smallest groan was heard from the bed and they all looked down as Spock stirred.

Then, Spock opened his eyes.

"Captain?" His normally smooth voice was hoarse.

"Before you say anything else, I have a favour to ask you." Jim smiled. "Please don't ever do that again."

"I second that." Uhura smiled and stroked Spock's cheek.

"I'll try my best." Spock's eyes smiled at them.

"By the way Bones," Scotty walked over and looked at him triumphantly, "I believe you owe me one first edition Graham Greene."

"What?" Bones laughed.

"Gail kissed him Bones." Sulu smirked. "In the transporter room, right before she left for the Krematek."

"No she didn't."

"Yes, she did." Chekov said smiling.

"No she didn't." Bones repeated sternly. He looked to Jim and he nodded in confirmation. Bones tried not to curse under his breath as he looked again at Scotty's triumphant expression.

"Oh, shut up."


End file.
